CIRCULAR

 ON THE RULES OF TRIALS AND HEARINGS, AND AUDIO RECORDING AND VIDEO/IMAGE RECORDING DURING TRIALS AND HEARINGS

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of People's Courts No. 34/2024/QH15 amended by Law No. 81/2025/QH15, Law No. 106/2025/QH15, Law No. 116/2025/QH15, Law No. 142/2025/QH15, and Law No. 150/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code No. 101/2015/QH13 amended by Law No. 02/2021/QH15, Law No. 34/2024/QH15, Law No. 59/2024/QH15, Law No. 99/2025/QH15, Law No. 103/2025/QH15, Law No. 105/2025/QH15, Law No. 106/2025/QH15, and Law No. 128/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Civil Procedure Code No. 92/2015/QH13 amended by Law No. 45/2019/QH14, Law No. 59/2020/QH14, Law No. 13/2022/QH15, Law No. 19/2023/QH15, Law No. 34/2024/QH15, Law No. 46/2024/QH15, Law No. 85/2025/QH15 and Law No. 142/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on Administrative Procedure No. 93/2015/QH13 amended by Law No. 55/2019/QH14, Law No. 34/2024/QH15, Law No. 85/2025/QH15, and Law No. 102/2025/QH15;

At the request of the Director of the Department of Legal Affairs and Scientific Management of the Supreme People's Court;

The Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court hereby issues a Circular on the rules of trials and hearings, and audio recording and video/image recording during trials and hearings

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This circular stipulates the principles for organizing court trials and hearings; rules of trials and hearings, and audio recording and video/image recording during trials and hearings.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. The Trial Panels, the Civil matter resolution councils, and the councils for resolution of other matters (hereinafter referred to as the "Trial panels"); the Judge presiding over the court trials or hearings (hereinafter referred to as "presiding Judge"); other proceeding officers, procedure-participants; participants in the court trials or hearings, and other relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals in the course of the Court's resolution and adjudication of cases and matters in accordance with the law.

2. First-instance, appellate, cassation, and reopening trial over criminal lawsuits; administrative lawsuits; and civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, and labor lawsuits.

3. Hearings for review and resolution of cases and matters include:

a) Hearings for resolving civil matters specified in Article 369 of the Civil Procedure Code; the appellate hearings for resolving civil matters specified in Article 375 of the Civil Procedure Code;

b) Hearings for inspecting the submission, access, and disclosure of evidence, and for mediation, specified in Article 210 of the Civil Procedure Code;

c) Hearings for inspecting the submission, access, and disclosure of evidence, and for dialogue, specified in Article 138 of the Law on Administrative Procedures;

d) Appellate hearings concerning decisions of the first-instance court that are appealed or protested, specified in Article 362 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Article 314 of the Civil Procedure Code, and Article 243 of the Law on Administrative Procedures;

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e) Hearings for reviewing and deciding on the application of administrative handling measures in accordance with the Ordinance on the Procedures for reviewing and making decision on the application of administrative handling measures at People's Courts;

g) Hearings for reviewing and deciding on compulsory rehabilitation in accordance with the Ordinance on procedures for the people’s court to consider deciding on sending drug addicts aged full 12 to under 18 to compulsory rehabilitation centers;

Other hearings organized by the Court in accordance with laws on procedures.

Article 3. Principles for organizing trials/hearings

1. Trials/Hearings must be conducted at the correct time and place, and with the correct composition of proceeding officers and procedure-participants.

2. Trials/Hearings shall be conducted publicly, except in cases of closed trials as prescribed by law.

3. The organization of trials/hearings must ensure safety, security, order, civility, and the solemnity of the Court; ensure that the resolution and adjudication are conducted equally, democratically, strictly, objectively, and in accordance with the law; and contribute to dissemination and education for citizens’ compliance with the law, respect the rules of social life, and raise awareness in the fight against crime and other law violations.

4. The Court and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals shall prepare necessary conditions for organizing trials/hearings; agencies, organizations, and individuals must strictly comply with the law and the Court's requirements when organizing trials/hearings.

5. Procedures and proceedings of trials/hearings must strictly comply with the law and the instruction of the Judge presiding over the trial/hearing.

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Article 4. Rules of trials/hearings

Rules of trials/hearings (hereinafter referred to as "court rules") include:

1. When participating in or attending a trial/hearing, everyone must present their summons, invitation letter, citizen identity card, personal identification papers, or other relevant documents, and must comply with the security check conducted by the force responsible for protecting the court hearing or session;

2. It is strictly prohibited to bring into the trial/hearing weapons, dangerous instruments, explosives, flammable substances, toxic substances, radioactive substances, banned items, leaflets, slogans, and other documents or objects that affect the safety, security, order, or solemnity of the trial/hearing, except for physical evidence of the case or matter used for resolution or adjudication, or weapons and support instruments carried by competent persons for the purpose of protecting the trial/hearing;

3. It is prohibited to bring into the trial/hearing devices for transmitting, collecting, processing, storing, or exchanging information and digital data, such as telephones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, or other devices with audio recording, video recording, or electronic signal transmission/reception functions (hereinafter referred to as "electronic devices"), except with the permission of the presiding Judge. The use of electronic devices by procedure-participants to look up dossiers, documents, and evidence, to conduct online trials, or to make audio or video recordings of the trial/hearing must be under the instruction of the presiding Judge;

4. Audio recording shall be carried out during the course of the trial/hearing; video/image recording at the trial/hearing may only be carried out during the opening of the trial/hearing and during the pronouncement of the judgment or the announcement of the decision.

Audio recording during the course of the trial/hearing, and video/image recording of the Trial Panel or the Judge during the opening of the trial/hearing and during the pronouncement of the judgment or announcement of the decision, must have the consent of the presiding Judge; in cases of audio or video recording of other proceeding officers or trial/hearing participants, the consent of those persons and of the presiding Judge must be obtained.

Persons participating in or attending the trial/hearing must not live stream or broadcast online; must not provide false information; must not provide information that affects the independence and adherence solely to the law, or the impartiality and objectivity in adjudicating and resolving the case or matter; must not violate the human rights of the defendant, the victim, the involved parties, or other procedure-participants; and must not violate confidentiality regulations as prescribed by law;

5. When entering the trial/hearing, participants must present their summons, invitation letter, citizen identity card, personal identification papers, or other relevant documents to the Court Clerk at the clerk's desk no later than 15 minutes before the opening time; in case of late arrival, documents must be presented through the force protecting the trial/hearing on duty. Persons under 16 years of age may not enter the trial/hearing, except where they have been summoned by the Court;

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7. Proceeding officers shall wear the prescribed attire; procedure-participants and persons attending the trial/hearing shall wear proper attire and take their designated positions as prescribed;

8. Persons participating in or attending the trial/hearing must show respect toward the Trial Panel, other proceeding officers, and other procedure-participants; must maintain order and comply with the instruction of the presiding Judge; must stand up when the Trial Panel or the presiding Judge enters the courtroom and during the pronouncement of the judgment; the defendant must stand when the Procurator announces the indictment or the prosecution decision. Persons who, for health reasons, are unable to stand may remain seated as approved by the presiding Judge;

9. Persons participating in or attending the trial/hearing must not wear hats or caps, tinted glasses, or use electronic devices, except for legitimate reasons and with the permission of the presiding Judge; they must not smoke, eat or drink, or engage in other acts affecting the security, order, or solemnity of the trial/hearing;

10. Only persons granted consent by the Trial Panel or the presiding Judge may ask questions, answer, or make statements. A person asking a question, answering, or making a statement must stand up. A defendant held in pre-trial detention may only have contact with their defense counsel; contact with any other person must be permitted by the presiding Judge;

11. Persons participating in an online trial/hearing at a component connection point must comply with the court rules; must keep their electronic devices switched on; may only ask or answer questions, or make statements when requested to do so; and must not create images or other noise that disturbs the trial/hearing;

12. Any person who violates the court rules may, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, be barred from entering or forced to leave the court; be subject to administrative penalties or administrative detention; or may be subject to request or petition made to the competent authority to initiate criminal proceedings in accordance with the law.

Article 5. Prohibition from entering or enforced removal from trials/hearings for persons violating court rules

1. A person who violates the court rules shall be prohibited from entering the trial/hearing for acts specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 5, and 9 of Article 4 of this Circular.

2. For a person who violates the court rules as specified in Clauses 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of Article 4 of this Circular, the presiding Judge shall, based on the nature and severity of the violation, review and decide to force the violator to leave the trial/hearing.

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The Police Force protecting the trial, the People's Army Forces, and other forces protecting the trial/hearing on duty shall maintain the safety, security, order, civility, and solemnity of the trial/hearing, and execute the decisions of the Trial Panel or the presiding Judge to force violators to leave the trial/hearing; temporarily detain persons who cause disorder at the hearing or session; or execute other decisions in accordance with the law.

Article 7. Audio recording and video/image recording of trial/hearing as specified in Clause 4 of Article 141 of the Law on Organization of the People's Courts

1. The Court shall carry out audio and video/image recording of trial/hearing where necessary to serve professional operations in the following tasks:

a) Drawing lessons from the practice of adjudicating and resolving cases and matters;

b) Summarizing practical experience, ensuring the uniform application of law in adjudication;

c) Professional training and refresher training;

d) Law dissemination, popularization and education;

d)  Other cases as decided by the Chief Justice of the Court.

2. The audio and video/image recording of the trial/hearing specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall comply with the working program or plan approved by the competent authority or be reviewed and decided by the Chief Justice of the Court handling that case or matter.

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a) The content of the audio and video/image recordings must be information that is permitted to be accessed and must satisfy the conditions for provision under laws on access to information, laws on personal data protection, and other relevant laws;

b) The agency, organization, or individual requesting the provision must be a person entitled to make such a request under the law;

c) The human rights of the defendant, the victim, the involved parties, and other procedure-participants must be protected; the confidentiality regulations under the law must be complied;

d) Such provision must not affect the adjudication or resolution of the case or matter, or the independence, impartiality, objectivity, and adherence solely to the law of the Court.

4. The use of the results of audio and video/image recordings of the trial/hearing must satisfy the following requirements:

a) It must comply with laws on access to information, laws on personal data protection, and other relevant laws on the use of information;

b) It must accurately, fully, and honestly reflect the facts; must not distort the content of the information provided; must not convey false information, insult the honor, dignity, or reputation of, or cause harm to the life, health, or property of, or infringe upon other lawful rights and interests of, any agency, organization, or individual; must not violate confidentiality regulations under the law; and avoid disseminate, live stream, broadcast online, or unlawfully trade the information provided;

c) The information provided must not be used against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to undermine unity policies, to insult belief or religion, to discriminate against or divide ethnic groups, to incite violence, or to affect national defense, national security, foreign affairs, or social order and safety;

d) Preservation and storage of the results of the audio and video/image recordings of the trial/hearing must comply with laws on archives;

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Article 8. Implementation

1. The court rules containing the content specified in Article 4 of this Circular must be publicly posted at the Court's office, on the Court's website, and through other forms of publication convenient for proceeding officers and persons participating in or attending the trial/hearing to access.

2. The Chief Justices of the People's Courts and Military Courts at all levels, the Heads of units under the Supreme People's Court, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals implement this Circular.

3. In the course of implementation, any difficulties, obstacles, proposals, or recommendations shall promptly be reported to the Supreme People's Court (the Department of Legal Affairs and Scientific Management) for compilation and reporting to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court for review and decision.

Article 9.  Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from August 1, 2026.

2. Circular No. 02/2017/TT-TANDTC dated July 28, 2017, of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, on the Regulation on organization of trials, shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular comes into force.

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CHIEF JUSTICE




Nguyen Van Quang